Repaving of Main Street to begin earlier than expected

Monday

Sep 9, 2013 at 11:32 AM

Lexington will receive new carpet a little sooner than expected.

BY SHARON MYERSThe Dispatch

Lexington will receive new carpet a little sooner than expected. Gov. Pat McCrory described Lexington as the “living room” of Davidson County when he was here in June, but after the resurfacing of Main Street a few weeks later, Mayor Newell Clark said he didn’t like the carpet. On Monday, the North Carolina Department of Transportation announced that Main Street will be resurfaced three years ahead of schedule. Originally slated to be resurfaced in 2019, Main Street is now scheduled to be milled and resurfaced in the summer of 2016.“Obviously we are pleased that it is happening sooner than later,” Clark said. “I have always said that we can get a lot done when we come together as a community.”In early June, the N.C. Department of Transportation chose a street maintenance method called micro-surfacing, which differs from traditional hot-mix asphalt surfacing and uses dense-graded aggregate, asphalt emulsion, water and mineral fillers to seal and extend the life of roads until the road could be fully milled and resurfaced. While the micro-surfacing treatment was successful in correcting existing pavement issues and will minimize further deterioration of the pavement, many business owners were displeased with the end result and expressed their feelings through a survey developed through the Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce.“Our members felt strongly that the entire surface needed to be milled and resurfaced within the next 12 to 24 months,” said Burr Sullivan, chamber of commerce president and CEO. “It is not as quick as we would have liked, but it’s a good compromise.”Sullivan presented the results of the survey that was distributed to chamber members to Lexington City officials the last week of July. Sullivan said that a majority of the members stated that the state of Main Street is not in keeping with the recent trends by merchants in the uptown Lexington area.“Given all the investments that have taken place recently, it is not at all in concert with the appearance of the rest of uptown Lexington,” Sullivan said. “It is not pleasing to the eye, it is noisy, and there are puddles of water left standing after it rains. We need to get the street compatible with the rest of uptown.”The new micro-surfacing even caused the N.C. Criterium State Championships, a bicycle race, to relocate to Winston-Salem in July because of the road’s potential impact on the riders.DOT board member Jake Alexander, Rep. Rayne Brown, R-Davidson, Clark and Lexington City Manager Alan Carson toured Main Street on July 5 as a result of city officials, residents and business owners being frustrated over the DOT’s resurfacing project. After considering several options, officials determined that accelerating the schedule of the full resurfacing project is the best solution to meet the long-term infrastructure needs of the city while making the best use of limited maintenance dollars. “NCDOT fully understands the city’s concerns and is committed to providing Lexington’s residents, visitors and business owners with a Main Street they can be proud of,” said Division 9 Engineer Pat Ivey. “We are pleased to have found a solution that will support the economic vitality of uptown Lexington while at the same time making the most efficient use of NCDOT’s limited resources.”Clark said one of the reasons the resurfacing had originally been slated for 2019 was because recent cuts in the state transportation budget had diminished road repair money and increased bridge repair budgets, leaving few funds available to do the needed repaving.The resurfacing project slated for 2016 replaces a previous plan to repave a portion of Main Street in the more immediate future. The NCDOT had previously offered to place three-quarters of an inch of asphalt from Third Street to Third Avenue, but Clark stated that offer was not an acceptable solution, and he continued to press for a complete resurfacing of the entire street.“We didn’t want a patch job,” Clark said. “We went back to the table and started more conversations. I would like to thank Pat Ivey and Jake Alexander for their willingness to listen and their cooperation in this effort. A lot of positives came out of these negotiations.”As an interim safety and beautification measure, NCDOT will install enhanced, stamped crosswalks at the intersection of Main and Center streets later this month. Clark said that these efforts will create a more pedestrian friendly town and is another step in the revitalization effort in uptown Lexington.“I appreciate the patience of the citizens during this time,” Clark said. “The DOT has realized their mistake and has decided not to use this method on any more Main Streets. Now we have to move forward on preparing for the long-term paving project and how we handle business as usual as they are milling up the road.”

Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.

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